Improvement in washing-machines



l H. SCHMELZPPEIQNING.` Washing-Machine.

Patented June18.1878.

lWIlli N. PETERS. PHTO-LITHOGRAFiHIIL WASHINGTON, D. C4

j STATES, :PATENT OFFICE.

HERMANN scnMELZPFENNINe; ci?1 CAMPnimsrisuruf, KENTUCKY.

IM PROVE MENT IN jV'VASH ING-M AVC H IN ES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 204,917, dated June 18,1878 application filed May 52, 1878.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMANN SCHMELZ- PFENNING, of (lampbellsburg, in thecounty of Henry and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Washing-Machines; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of my invention,which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specication, in which- Figure l is a top view of themachine; Fig. 2, a vert-ical longitudinal section thereof through theline :c a: of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a full elevation of the hinged frame andthe rubber or basket, and Fig. 4 a partial elevation of the hinged framethat supports the basket.

My invention consists of a suds-box, a basket or rubber suspended withina frame which is hinged to one end ofthe box, and a leverage device,substantially such as hereinafter described, for regulating the pressureon the clothes.

In the accompanying drawings, the letterA indicates the body of themachine, which has a semi-cylindrical chamber, B, forming the suds-box,and is supported by posts C. The interior surface of the suds-box iscorrugated, as shown, and on one side, at or near-its -bottom, is anorifice, through which, when the plug is withdrawn, the water may dowout. 'lo the upper portion of the suds-box or of the body of themachine, at one end thereof, is hinged a frame, D, in which is suspendeda basket or rubbing device, E. This frame is composed of two bars, F,which have shoulders fon their inner surfaces and somewhere about themiddle thereof, which shoulders, when the frame is lowered, set inrecesses a formed in the sides of the suds-box, thus affording the framea iirm and stable bearing on the body of the machine. A rod, b, passesthrough these two bars F at one end, and through the extensions d of thebody of the machine, thereby hinging the frame at one end to themachine.

It is-obvious that, instead of having a single rod extending from oneside of the machine to the other, the frame may be hinged by means.adapted to be folded.

of separate bolts. At the opposite end of this frame,`connected to thetwo side bars thereof, and extending across the body of the machine, aretwo bars, e e, hinged to each other and rlhe function of these bars isthat of alever adapted, by beingfolded or unfolded, to lower or raisethe frame, and with it the rubber, thereby diminishing or increasing thespace between the basket or rubber and the rubbing-surface of thesuds-box. The effect of this is to increase or lessen the pressure ofthe rubber against the clothes inthe box.

The basket or rubber` is semi-cylindrical in form, its circle beingconsiderably less than that of the suds-box, in order that the spacebetween the two may be sufficient to contain the clothes to be washed,and it is composed of two sides, G, and cross-strips g, the latterextending a little outside of the circle described by the contour of thesides, and having rounded polygonal or V-shaped edges, and being placedin a position so as to leave interstices between every two. This basketor rubber is suspended in the frame described by means of a rod, h,which is passed through the sides of the rubber at about the center ofthe circle and into the shoulders of the hinged frame, which formjournal-bearings for the rod. The rubber thus suspended has a rockingmotion, and is provided with levers or handles H, composed of barsfastened to the sides of the rubber, and connected by a rod to begrasped by the operator in working the machine.

A machine made according to this description is simple, compact, andsubstantial in parts and construction, and effective in operation.

The operation is as follows: The frameD is thrown back, and with it iscarried the rubber or basket. The clothes which have irst had soapapplied to them are then placed in the suds-box. Warm water is nextpoured into the box, and then the frame is brought down, and with it thebasket, the latter coming into contact with the garments in thesuds-box. The operator then grasps the lever or handle of the basket andsets the latter in motion. In a short time the garments are cleansed,the frame and rubber are thrown back, the clothes removed, and the waterallowed to flow out In testimony that I claim the foregoing as throughthe orioe in the box. my own I hereto affix my signature in preslmfingdescribed my invention, what I ence of two witnesses. dan 1S- HERMANNSCHMELZPFENNING.

The hinged frame D, having suspended e, therein the basket or rubber E,in combination Witnesses: with the suds-box B and. lever e e, substan-MATTHEW MCCOLLISTER, tially as and for the purpose set forth. Gr. SAMS.

